As a civics teacher, whether I like it or not, President Trump comes up regularly.
The other day, I did a quick poll asking who the best president of all time is, and it had all the iconic names like Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, and “other.”
When I share the results of the poll with the students, I often ask the people who picked “other” to tell me who they were thinking of. Inwardly hoping for students to name some of my favs like “Silent Cal” Coolidge or John Quincy Adams. But what I got was several students saying “Trump.” Of course, this provokes other students to respond that he is the worst.
What neither side realizes is that they are almost textbook examples of what academics call “recency bias” or what I’ll call: getting caught up in the moment.
One of the things that I love about history, is that it gives perspective on what is happening now.
Did you know that almost exactly 100 years ago America had a tariff happy period under Hoover (if you are interested, look up the The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930). It resulted in a trade war crisis and the world went crazy. I would love to chat with some of you about the political and economics of that whole historical moment, but my point right now is if you know about these events, you have perspective.
In my favorite CS Lewis essay on old books the thinker dropped this quote that lives rent free in my mind:
“Every age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and especially liable to make certain mistakes… People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes.” – CS Lewis
The benefit of the past is that they are not us, and we can learn from their mistakes and wisdom. With the benefit of the past, we are not lost in the chaos of life. We functionally have a map with directions.
Of course, we have the right to our own outlook (our updated maps), but one of the benefits of history is that we can see what others thought and felt (pondering this as last week I was in Amsterdam and saw Anne Frank’s house). This can help us with our own blind spots. Often the blind spots include thinking that we have it better or worse than other people in ____ time.
For example, you can find people online who think that the Middle Ages were dark and depressing. However, the more you research that era the more you find that while some things were pretty rough, some things were really nice (even for serfs) and maybe we should learn from them! On the other hand, there are people who are tempted by watching beautifully idyllic shows like Andy Griffith and Leave it to Beaver and think that the 1950s were the perfect time for America. But a tiny bit of historical digging reveals some dark truths: redlining (saying only “whites” can live on this street), banned interracial marriage, and asylums for people with autism. In short, recency bias can make things look way better or worse than they really are.
Another reason why you might think that Trump is the BEST! or the WORST!
Trump (and his GOP allies) spent about $1.45 billion to convince you that he is the best. And Democrats spent $1.99 billion convincing you that he is the worst. Not only was this one of the most expensive campaign cycles in history, but it was targeting you. George Washington’s campaign was over 200 years ago. No one is spending billions to pump him up or destroy him. His name will languish in your mind if you don’t take initiative and cultivate memory of his accomplishments.
And this happens every 4 years.
You and your emotions are targeted by some of the most effective marketers in the world, so that will turn up in polls. In fact, as a teacher, one of the most disappointing polls that comes out every few years is a “greatest president in history” poll. For example, this poll has the top 4 being Lincoln, Kennedy, Washington, and Obama. And the lowest 4 are Trump, Biden, Nixon, and GW Bush.
All this to say, is Trump the BEST or WORST?
If you look at history, there are clearly better heros like Lincoln (held our country together in its darkest hour and freed the slaves) and Washington (who embodied separation of powers and establishing limits on his own office) and worse like Wilson (blatantly racist) and Jackson (grabbing and expanding presidential overreach to expel peaceful native Americans and sending Davy Crockett into political exile).
If you think that Trump is the best, take the things you admire most about him and you will find others who have those traits and did more with them. If you think that Trump is the worst, think about the things you hate/fear, and I promise you that presidents have had those traits and took them further.
If you know me, you know I am not afraid of politics and have spent much of my life in that space. I’m not saying that history is all that matters and we shouldn’t work today to do great things. What I am saying is that with some context, you will have a better perspective on the present, and maybe by understanding the victories and losses in the past, we can work better in the present for a brighter future.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jeremiah’s Substack and is republished here with permission. Visit his Substack to read more of his work and subscribe for updates.
